A Jersey City man fired by Bayonne Medical Center has been awarded more than $2.1 million after suing the hospital under New Jersey's whistleblower law.

"It is not OK to fire somebody because they object to violations of the law by the employers, that's why we have the whistleblower law," said Mount Laurel attorney Kevin M. Costello who represented Ceferino Doculan.

On Tuesday, the technician in the hospitals blood bank was awarded $2 million in punitive damages, $80,000 in lost wages and $60,000 for pain an suffering, Costello said.

"The thing that matters most to me is that my reputation for being a good technologist for many years has been restored, and that the jury did the right thing," Doculan said. "I'm most pleased that they believed my word."

Doculan worked at the hospital well over 20 years and in 2010 he was assigned a new supervisor. Believing the new supervisor did not have the proper credentials for the position, Doculan complained about improper staffing, Costello said.

Doculan was then disciplined three times for alleged errors in his paperwork, once for allegedly being insubordinate, and was then fired, Costello said.

"We contended that he was fired because of his protected complaint and they contended he had not been, but deserved to be fired," Costello said. "The jury apparently didn't agree that the predominant reason for his discharge was his performance, and found the predominant reason was his protected conduct."

A Bayonne Medical Center spokeswoman said the hospital is terminating an agreement with a lab management company that furnished supervisors who assisted in managing hospital labs.

"We expected that this company was complying with its contractual obligation to provide us with supervisors who were competent, qualified and professional," said hospital spokeswoman Anna Tenuta. "The supervisor at the root of this case was an employee of the lab management company."

Costello said Doculan filed a complaint with the state regarding the supervisor. The state found the supervisor was, in fact, not qualified, and she was promptly transferred out of her position, an action that met with state approval, Tenuta said.

The spokeswoman said the hospital respects the jury process but disagrees with the choice to award damages and an appeal will be filed.

"We are confident that based on precedent and the facts of this case, the ruling will be turned in favor of Bayonne Medical Center," Tenuta said.